Preserving Yesterday for Tomorrow

Welcome . . .

The Harriston Historical Society, is dedicated to the preservation of the unique heritage of the town of Harriston and Minto Township (Ontario, Canada) through archival collections of vintage pictures, documents and artifacts.

Harriston is located at the crossroads of Highways 9 and 89, about 45 miles northwest of Guelph. Archibald Harrison, the first Reeve of Minto Township, was one of four brothers who were amongst the first settlers of the area.

Harriston was incorporated as a village in January 1873, with Alexander Meiklejohn as the first Reeve. In 1878 Harriston achieved status as a town, with Mr. Meiklejohn as the first mayor. With a population in the 1880?s of close to 2000, the town boasted grist and saw mills, six hotels, blacksmiths, carpenters and several dry goods stores.

The Town of Minto amalgamated in 1999 bringing together the municipalities of Harriston, Palmerston, Clifford, and the Township of Minto.

With hundreds of family histories, town building photographs, and countless other indexed resources; you will find the Harriston Historical Society collection to be a treasure trove of valuable information and materials.